This invention relates to a razor of the kind which includes two or more razor blades which are movable with a shaving action, by a user, over a region which is to be shaved.
A razor of the aforementioned kind is normally used in conjunction with a soap or lather, a gel or cream, or any other suitable preparation (collectively referred to herein as “a shaving composition”) which may facilitate or enhance the shaving process.
It has been proposed to combine a container, which contains a shaving composition, with a shaving head which carries a razor blade. Pressure is applied to the shaving composition in any suitable way, for example by internally pressurizing the container or by squeezing the container, manually or through the use of a suitable device, to expel the shaving composition from the shaving head directly onto a zone which is being shaved. Prior art documents which are relevant to this type of operation include the following: U.S. Pat. No. 7,178,241, U.S. Pat. No. 7,121,754, U.S. Pat. No. 6,807,739, U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,330, U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,302, U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,190, U.S. Pat. No. 5,168,628, U.S. Pat. No. 4,753,006, U.S. Pat. No. 4,653,188, U.S. Pat. No. 4,562,643, U.S. Pat. No. 4,074,429, U.S. Pat. No. 3,895,437, US2007/017097, US2005/132574, US2002/0157255 and DE4335449.
Typically the prior art devices described in the aforementioned citations are concerned with directing a shaving aid material to a head of a razor. For example in U.S. Pat. No. 7,121,754 the shaving aid is directed to a plurality of ports on a shaving head which surround a razor cartridge. In US2002/0157255 a soap film is deposited ahead of a leading blade in a blade cartridge. In US2006/0272154 a shaving gel is dispensed from a handle of a razor through a manifold which extrudes the gel into laminar-flow paths that emanate outwardly from around a pivoting multi-bladed cartridge.
In general terms the prior art devices, of which the applicant is aware, are primarily concerned with directing a shaving composition to a zone or region, adjacent one or more razor blades, which is to be shaved. Although these devices do provide, to some extent, a convenience factor a user is still required to go through a conventional shaving process. Thus the blade or blades in the razor must be cleaned at regular intervals during the shaving process for hairs and hair follicles can be trapped, particularly between blades in a multi-bladed cartridge. This trapped material creates a sensation of drag as the razor is drawn over the skin and blunts the blades fairly rapidly.
It is an object of the invention to provide a razor in which the likelihood of the entrapment of shaved material such as hair and hair follicles during a shaving process is reduced so that the shaving experience is thereby enhanced, and blade life is extended.